Delhi Traffic Police

The Delhi Traffic police do a great job. No other city's traffic police compares to the Delhi traffic police. The great wide roads of Delhi - a city that seems to be infinite is a pleasure to traverse. Delhi traffic control provides hope for the country. The excuse that this is India and it is like that here fails and Delhi is sound proof of this fact. There is no need to risk lives and limbs of loved ones. Mangalore, please take lessons from Delhi.

My bus trips

The bus conductors are in a great hurry to get passengers off the bus in Mangalore. Some times they ride off before the passengers have disembarked completely. There are many cases where people have fallen off buses and died. Traffic safety has a long way to go in Mangalore. I wonder who cares!!!

Dangerous Crossings

Every time I have to cross a road in Mangalore, I am scared to
death. There are no signals, Zebra crossings, or traffic police on
most roads. Literally, you are playing with your life every time you
cross a road. My heart swells with pride when I see the new wide roads
build all across the city. It is a commendable job indeed but the city
seem to have completely missed the point that pedestrians use the
roads too. I seriously would like to see more facilities for
pedestrians on Mangalore roads.

People of Mangalore and other cities of India have taken the road
crossing hazards as part and parcel of daily life. It sounds to many
that my living overseas has made me particularly sensitive to the
dangers of crossing roads in Mangalore. But I remember, as a child
growing up in Mumbai, traffic was more regulated. We always crossed
roads at designated corners. It was considered bad manners if we did
otherwise. But Zebra crossings have reduced considerably in Mumbai. In
Mangalore, I doubt there ever was good regulated road crossings.

Traffic has grown many times over, but traffic control has not caught
up with the times. Mangalore is a budding city with big dreams. It is
still small enough to repair some faults. So, let us begin work on
making Mangalore roads safe for pedestrians.

Identity crisis for NRIs

NRI (non resident Indian) are faced with an identity crisis in India. To get a cell phone, drivers license etc, you need address proof. In other words an identity card showing your picture and address. Your passport is not good enough if it does not carry the current address. Address proof without picture is not accepted either. Only two items are widely accepted: a ration card and a voter's card. Now being an NRI you cannot vote so the voter's card is out. You have not been buying rations for years so the ration card is not current either. So here we are in Mangalore without solid identity. One of these days the ration card will get cleared and then we will become regular people again. Cheers!

Windows in a storm

Sadly, the windows of my high rise apartment can hardly be left open. The strong wind currents lead to way too much banging. This made me notice that all the high rise apts in America have sliding windows. No traditional windows. The challenge of functional windows is what I am faced with now.

Ants in the pantry

I watch the ants in my kitchen feeling kind of sorry that they risk their lives for the meager crumbs. So food of humans must be delicious. I have noticed that animals thrive in human presence. The plants, the clearings, etc that man likes are also preferred by other animals. Something to take note of when thinking of nature preservation. Most nature preservation today means keeping man away.

Housing for the poor

My maid was saying that she does not own a house but rents one. That made me think that she may never own one no matter how hard she works. Kerala Govt in yesteryears gave housing to the poor. Perhaps Karnataka Govt should consider it too. In countries like Mexico if you have a job, you can buy a house, albeit small, which you can slowly pay off in a lifetime. Roti, kapada, aur makhan are fundamental rights of every human being. For hard working people this should be a goal that can be achieved.

The sad state of timber

My search for furniture around Mangalore leaves me disappointed. Wooden furniture is really expensive. India like Africa has timber problems. A lot of valuable timber is protected and hence available only in black markets at exorbitant prices. Malaysian teak wood is more easily available than Indian teak in India. No alarm bells ring for Indians though. Colonialism is perhaps the reason for protecting timber trees in Africa and India. If teak grew in Europe it would flood the market.

Watching the rains again

It has been a while when I last sat dreamily looking out the windows as the rains drench the good old earth. So now I have come to roost in Mangalore a part of Dakshina Kannada so prosperous that no one is said to go hungry. The temples give out free meals to every visitor. Rich and poor eat the same meal at the temples. I liked the geography and I may come to like the people. We will find out as time goes by. Mangalore is breathtakingly beautiful and I do hope the people of this place preserve the greenery filled with coconut trees.

On the lighter side, to get a telephone connection (a land line) you need an address proof. If the milk goes bad it is the fault of your vessel. You need to search hard for what you want. But the good news is that everything you want you can find in Mangalore. Cheers.